This page contains a list of common Latin abbreviations. Nearly all the abbreviations below have been adopted by Modern English. However, with some exceptions (for example, versus or modus operandi), most of the Latin referent words and phrases are still foreign and unknown to English. In a few cases, English referents have replaced the original Latin ones (e.g., "rest in peace" for R.I.P. and "post script" for P.S.).
Latin was once the universal academic language in Europe. From the 18th century authors started using their mother tongues to write books, papers or proceedings. Even when Latin fell out of use, many Latin abbreviations continued to be used due to their precise simplicity and Latin's status as a learnèd language.
In July 2016, the government of the United Kingdom announced that its websites would no longer use Latin abbreviations.
All abbreviations are given with full stops, although these are omitted or included as a personal preference in most situations.
Less common abbreviations and usages
Words and abbreviations that have been in general use, but are currently used less often:
A = amen
a.C.n. = ante Christum natum = BC = before Christ
ad. nat. delt. = ad naturam delineavit = he/she drew (this artwork) after nature
AMDG (Ad maiorem Dei gloriam or ad majorem Dei gloriam): Latin - "For the greater glory of God". It is the motto of the Society of Jesus.
a.u. (anno urbis): Latin for "The year of the city"
a.U.c. (ab Urbe condita or Anno Urbis conditae): Latin for "from the foundation of the City": it refers to the founding of Rome, which occurred in 753 BC according to Livy's count. Used as a reference point in ancient Rome for establishing dates, before being supplanted by other systems. Also anno Urbis conditae (a.U.c.) ("in the year that the City [Rome] was founded"). For example, the year 2007 AD is the year 2761 ab Urbe condita (753 + 1 + 2007 = 2761); though, rigorously speaking, the year a.U.c. begins on April 21, the birthday of Rome (i.e. the day that Romulus was traditionally believed to have founded the Eternal City). (The reason for adding 1 to 753 is that the Romans counted dates "inclusively," i.e., including both the first and the last day or year in the count.)
A.B. (Artium Baccalaureus), "Bachelor of Arts" (B.A., BA, or AB), is an undergraduate bachelor's degree awarded for either a course or a program in the liberal arts or the sciences, or both.
Ben (Benedictus): "Blessed"
c (cum): "with", usually found in medical shorthand.
CC. (Civis in plural): Abbreviation for Citizens (plural of citizen). Usually found in legal documents in Civil law countries.
D.D. (Divinitatis Doctor), "Doctor of Divinity"
D.Lit. or D.Litt. (Doctor Litterarum) or Lit.D. or Litt.D. (Litterarum Doctor), "Doctor of Literature" or "Doctor of Letters"
D.M.D. (Dentae Medicinae Doctor), "Doctor of Dental Medicine"
D.Phil. (Doctor Philosophiæ), "Doctor of Philosophy"
Ed.D. (Educationae Doctor), "Doctor of Education"
et seq. (et sequens), et seqq or et sequa. (et sequentes, or et sequentia): "and the following" (use et seqq or et sequa. if "the following" is plural). Not unlike the full colon [ : ] which means "the following" i.e. that which follows is a listing of that which precedes the ' : '. (Incorrectly used, "the following:")
dwt. (denarius weight): "Pennyweight". N.B. this is a mixture of Latin and English abbreviations.
I.N.D.F.S.S.A (In Nomine Dei/Domini Filii Spiriti Sancti Amen): "In the name of the Lord, the Son and the Holy Spirit Amen"
F.D. or FID.DEF (fidei defensor), "defender of the faith." A part of the monarch's title, it is found on all British coins.
in litt. (in litteris): Latin for "in a letter [or other documented correspondence]"; often followed by a date.
inst. (instante mense): "this month" (see also prox. and ult.)
Ll.D. (Legum Doctor), "Doctor of Laws"
Ll.M. (Legum Magister), "Master of Laws"
loq. (loquitur), "S/he speaks"
M.D. (Medicinae Doctor) or D.M. (Doctor Medicinae), "Doctor of Medicine"
N.I.A ((In) Nomine Iesus Amen): "In the name of Jesus Amen"
N.N. (nomen nescio): "I do not know the name": used as a placeholder for unknown names in e.g. the Book of Common Prayer.
O.D. (oculus dexter): "the right eye". Used in vision correction prescriptions.
O.D. (Optometriae Doctor), "Doctor of Optometry".
O.S. (oculus sinister): "the left eye". Used in vision correction prescriptions.
prox. (proximo mense): "next month" (see also inst. and ult.).
r. (rexit): 'ruled'. Used for the time period of a monarch or other ruler's reign (e.g.: Mehmet III [r. 1595–1603])
Q.D.B.V. ("quod deus bene vertat"): "May god look favourably on this," often on the title page of books.
Q.E.C. (quod erat construendum): "which was to be constructed" (after constructing something, normally to show its existence)
Q.E.F. (quod erat faciendum): "which was to be done"
Q.E.I. (quod erat inveniendum): "which was to be found out", usually at the end of mathematical proofs.
s (sine): "without", usually found in medical shorthand.
S (Sanctus/Salvator): "Holy/Saviour"
sc. (scilicet) means literally "one may know". Sometimes abbreviated scil. It is equivalent to the English phrase "to wit" and has virtually the same meaning as "videlicet" (literally, "one may see"), which is usually abbreviated as "viz." These expressions are not to be confused with "i.e." (id est), equivalent to "that is". Their meanings are similar, but there is a distinction which should be observed: "sc." and "viz." introduce a clarification; "i.e." introduces an equivalence.
sec. (secundum) literally "second", "after" or "following", used in several related senses such as "in the sense of" or "in accordance with". For example in taxonomy "...sec. Smith..." typically would mean something like: "...in accordance with the ideas of Smith in this matter..."
S.C.S (Sanctus): "Holy"
S.C.S.D.X (Sanctus Dominus Christus): "Holy Lord Christ"
S.D.X (Sanctus Dominus Christus): "Holy Lord Christ"
S.D.I.X (Salvator Dominus Iesus Christus): "Saviour Lord Jesus Christ"
S.J.D. (Scientiae Juridicae Doctor) or J.S.D. (Juridicae Scientiae Doctor), "Doctor of Juridical Science"
Sc.D. (Scientiae Doctor) or D.Sc. (Doctor Scientiae), "Doctor of Science"
sphalm. (sphalma typographicum): a misprint.
S.P.D. (salutem plurimam dicit), sends many greetings, e.g. Areia S.P.D. Apollonio. (Areia sends many greetings to Apollonius)
S.P.Q.R. (Senatus Populusque Romanus): "Senate and People of Rome"
sqq. (sequentia): "the following ones": same as "ff", used for an unspecified number of pages following the one cited.
S.T.T.L. (sit tibi terra levis) means "May the earth rest lightly on you" and was used in similar manner to R.I.P.
s.v. (sub verbo): "Under the word or heading", as in a dictionary
S.V.B.E.E.V. (si vales bene est ego valeo): "if you are well, it is good. I am well." Among the Romans, this was a traditional salutation at the beginning of a letter.
Th.D. (Theologiae Doctor): "Doctor of Theology"
ult. (ultimo mense): "last month" (see also inst. and prox.)
u.s. (ut supra): "as above".
V.C. (vi coactus): "constrained by force". Used when forced to sign ("or else ...")
V.I. (Venerate Iesum): "Venerate Jesus"
v.i. (vide infra) means "see below".
v.s. (vide supra) means "see above".
X (Christus): "Christ"
